


Old Ghosts

by capitainpistol



Category: DCU (Comics), Wonder Woman (Comics), Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, DC Rebirth, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, New 52, Past Diana/Clark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 17:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7448404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capitainpistol/pseuds/capitainpistol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Diana goes to Steve after Clark's death. New 52/Rebirth universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Ghosts

Steve knows it’s her at the door. Diana’s knock is distinct, a soft and quick one-two with the very edges of the knuckles. Seeing her on the intercom still surprises him, still sets his heart racing, brings his anxieties and joys to bear in a crashing punch right at the chest.

“Steve, I can hear you breathing.” Her hand is up against the wall, her chin down so he can only see the top of her head. Her voice is broken, low, and full of misery. “I know I’m the last person you want to talk to.”

He opens the door as wide as his shoulder.

A part of him hurts so badly he wants to dish it out, send her away, but her eyes are puffy and red from crying, her hair in disarray. She had grabbed whatever clothes to come here. Plain black tee, jeans, and a big jacket she didn’t bother buttoning to wrap it around herself like a constant hug.

“How are you?” He asks with more bite than he intended.

She smiled at him, her eyes wet with tears that didn’t fall. After a brief silence, she said, “I just wanted to see you. That’s all.”

Their fingers touch on the wall. His heart sinks at how utterly the simple brush of her thumb on his destroys his resolve. 

He opens the door to let her in.

“Want a drink?”

“Yes, I’d love one.” 

As Steve pours them doubles of bourbon from his personal stash, he watches Diana contemplate whether or not to remove her jacket. 

“The pictures, they’re all gone,” she says, sitting on the couch directly across from the mantelpiece.

Steve hands her the glass. “They were all of us.” 

“Oh,” she said, looking into her drink.. “Steve, I—“

“It’s alright,” he assured her. Assured himself. He raised his glass. “To Clark.”

She was miserable, her pain palpable, but in spite of it all, she smiled and toasted with him. 

He sat down, not too close, not too far. 

The need to put an arm around her and comfort her, kiss her tears away, overwhelmed him. 

He leaned in, elbows on his knees, and found a space on the wall to stare at.

“What about you?” She asked. “Are you okay?” 

“You know me,” he said, trying to sound casual. 

Another smile. He glanced quickly, awkwardly her way and went right back to focus on the wall. 

“I thought… I thought things were going to be different,” she began. “He was so strong. And now he’s gone.”

Jealousies he’d buried deep resurface, but they were useless emotions. Clark. Superman. He was gone. 

That didn’t change things between them except for making them more complicated than ever.

“I was actually more worried,” she admitted with a soft, sad chuckle. “You think, nothing could go wrong with someone like him. He’ll make it through. He’ll survive.”

Steve almost burns a hole in the wall. He sucked it up. “He was a soldier, like us. Doesn’t matter how many fights you run into, how big the monster is, how destructive their weapons are, how good your unit is. You never stop caring. Never stop praying it’s you and not them.”

Diana shut her eyes, the tears streaking her cheeks. 

Old phantom urges drove him to wipe them away, but he stops himself and returns his gaze to the wall. 

“Won’t you look at me, Steve?”

He looks at her. Surprised she’s there at all, surprised her eyes regard him with… wanting? Longing? He had missed her so much. He could make himself believe anything.

Diana touches his cheek with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

He took her hand and gave it a quick kiss before gently letting it go. “I’m sorry you’re hurting.”


End file.
